Buboo Kakati Unravels The Big Apple's Secrets

By Arthur J Pais

New York, Feb 9 : "I chose to live in New York which I consider the centre of the universe," says Buboo Kakati, best known for her research for the Secrets of New York series, produced by New York City TV and being shown on PBS in many states.

There are endless stories in the Big Apple that are intriguing and life affirming, and a filmmaker, writer or artist can never run short of material, she affirms.

She should know -- the writer, director, editor and producer of documentaries has 23 Emmy nominations to her credit, and a win in the research section.

Kakati, who is working on a screenplay based on Thrity Umrigar's novel The Space Between Us, says though she has been influenced by the cinema of Vittorio De Sica and Luchino Visconti, she is also beholden to the populist narrative films she watched growing up in India.

'My background as an Indian and as someone who is also very entrenched in American society,' she said in a statement, 'informs my work whether directly or indirectly.'

Each episode of Secrets of New York takes about three months to research, produce and direct, she says.

"I get to read and hear wonderful stories in the media or from people," she notes, "The stories are wonderful but unless they are solidly researched, they are not going to come out well on the screen."

Often, she gets help from top professionals like Pulitzer Prize-winning city historian Mike Wallace.

"I have been to places in New York that most people just cannot go to," Kakati says. For instance, for an episode about the Hindenburg disaster, she went up with her team in the MetLife blimp and circled the city.

For a show on New York's century-old subway system, Kakati went to rail yards where subway cars are fixed. She rode on a 30-ton crane that picks up an entire subway car and puts it on the axle.